George DeHaven

Hey All, I have a KVD Tour Crankin' Rod and one of the micro guides had the plastic ring fall out of it. Any suggestions on how to fix it WITHOUT replacing the entire guide? I was thinking electrical tape but it's a very small guide. Any info is appreciated! Thanks!

Many GREAT responses! Thank you all so much for taking time out of your day to answer or provide feedback! I haven't been fishing (seriously) for more than a year yet but I have put in a lot of time and have become very proficient with spinning gear. I definitely want to learn how to use a baitcaster. I'm fascinated by the technology and I enjoy a challenge. I have 6 rods now, my last 2 being baitcasters. For Christmas, I picked up a 7' Fenwick Silverhawk with a Daiwa Exceler reel. $100 rod, $100 reel for $100 total on sale from Cabelas! Last week, I picked up a 7'4" KVD Tour MH Crankin' rod with a Pinnacle Producer reel. Got that for $100 on Craigslist! I seem to have the KVD rod dialed in and I was casting a moderately heavy crank bait about 30 yards or so. The Fenwick/Daiwa combo is the same but it's a bit more finicky and needs some more tuning. I am glad to hear how many of you feel that it doesn't really matter. I have an Abu Garcia Vendetta rod with an Abu Garcia Cardinal SX spinning reel that I love and now I can feel OK about picking up another at some point.

Is there really THAT big of a difference between a baitcaster and a spinning reel? I watch A LOT of videos and I do A LOT of research. Something everyone will notice is that you won't find too many spinning reels on the deck of a bass boat. I want to know why. I know that baitcasters won't twist the line like a spinner. If that's the only major difference, then I don't think I'll be buying anymore baitcasters. I am having a hell of a time learing how to cast with them. I feel like I'm learning how to fish all over again!

I didn't get a chance to read all of the posts yet, so someone may have picked this out already but I thought it was funny that you said "in the same boat" while talking about bank fishing! No boats!

I can't say whether or not they work, because I have only been "seriously" fishing for less than a year. I was using red 4/0 Gamakatsu Wide Gaps with Zoom Flukes and never had a bite on them. It could be the color, it could be my presentation, it could be that the fish didn't want flukes that day. However, in this off-season, I've been doing a lot of research to get ready for the thaw. I've become a spinnerbait fanatic and have been watching a lot of KVD YouTube videos. He SWEARS by red TRAILER hooks on his spinnerbaits and I am looking forward to trying it out. In fact, right before I posted this, I bought a few packs of red trailer hooks on eBay.

I grabbed a couple packs of the Zoom Super Chunk Jr's. Black/Blue to match the skirt of the jig and Green Pumpkin to match another. Thanks for the advice! I will most likely get one or both of your recommendations and give those a shot too!

Well, yeah. I know that there's other creatures out there but I figured I'd save some money by hopefully being able to narrow the search. Plus, a lot of the "How-To" videos on YouTube, you'll see guys using craws. However, most of the time, they're fishing down south.

I was wondering if it makes a difference that craws are not found here naturally. If the bass are not used to seeing them, can they still be successful?

What creatures work the best on swim jigs and/or arky head jigs in Northeastern PA?

Technically, I feel that this correct. A swivel is not "needed", however, if it isn't impeding the action of the lure then I would use them. Especially if you're trying to cover different depths to find fish. Of course, if you have a fish finder, then you can choose your crank based on that info. But for those of us that don't use elctronics, being able to skip the tying, cutting and re-tying lures is more time that can be spent fishing!

Why?

Thank you all so much for the responses! I haven't decided what I want to do yet. I'm leaning towards straight fluorocarbon but I run #20 green PP on a spinning reel with a 9' fluoro leader and I have been really enjoying it. However, I like the idea of NOT having to tie a double uni knot!

Good to know. Thank you so much!

I'd like to use braid but how heavy should I go? I use 20# braid on my spinning reels but I'm worried that it's too light for a baitcaster. However, I also feel like 50# or 60# is too heavy but I could be wrong.

What does everyone use for throwing spinnerbaits with a baitcaster?

Unfortunately, the closest Cabelas is about 2 hours away from me.

I've never heard of Lew's before now. Looks like a solid reel! I'd like to do more research on it. Here's what I've picked so far... Reel: http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=1159843&categoryId=0&parentCategoryId=0&subCategoryId=0&indexId=0&productVariantId=2806298&quantity=1&itemGUID=13ab6a88f36c581a11604bc34144de47&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104793480%3Bcat104760180%3Bcat104259780&destination=%2Fcheckout%2Fitem_added_to_cart.jsp%3Fresult%3Dsuccess%26categoryIds%3D104793480%7C104760180%7C104259780%26productId%3D1159843%26backToPreviousUrl%3D%252Fcatalog%252Fproduct.jsp%253FproductId%253D1159843%26WTz_l%3DChart Rod: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Fishing-Rods/Casting-Rods|/pc/104793480/c/104764680/sc/104823180/St-Croix-Triumph174-Casting-Rods/738311.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fcasting-rods%2F_%2FN-1102351%2B10000050%2FNe-10000050%2FNs-MAX_SALE_PRICE%257C1%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104793480%253Bcat104764680%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU#productChart

The gift card is for $100 but I can spend $150 total.

Hi All! I'm in the market for my first baitcaster. I've got 2 spinning reels and they're great but I've found that for spinnerbaits and some of my other favorite lures, a baitcasting rod and reel are the way to go. For Christmas, I recieved a Cabelas gift card and my first thought was a new rod and reel! I can't decide whether I want to split it down the middle, spend more on the reel or spend more on the rod. What do you think?

What a miserable day it turned out to be! Because of the warmer temperatures, the area was thick fog. Visibility on the bank was 50 yds. at most. All the docks have been pulled up and there was no cover. I tried. See you in the Spring!

Thanks for the replies! My confidence rigs are spinner and buzzbaits along with a KVD 1.5 crank. Those will be what I start with and I will be looking for docks and cover. I will also keep my eyes peeled for the sunlight, that is a great idea and makes sense. Maybe I'll take a page from Gene's book and tie on a mojo. Heck, maybe I'll try a shaky head. Look out for some pictures later on if I happen upon something that's biting! Thanks again!

Tomorrow morning's weather looks pretty good here in Northeastern, PA. I'm thinking about heading down to the lake to try and see what's biting. I don't have a boat so I'll be fishing from the bank right after sunrise. Any advice as to what to look for? Docks? Cover? Or should I just cast as far as possible with a heavy lure/rig and see what's down deep? I haven't been down to the lake in a little while and I might actually find that all the docks have been pulled up because we're getting close to freezing. Any info will be appreciated. Thanks!

...and yet, this is EXACTLY what I'm talking about and it drives me CRAZY! I had put all my gear in the truck, was set to take the kids to school and hit the lake right after. 2 HOUR DELAY. I can't win. LoL

Not only am I NOT going to pack up my gear just yet, but I am going to fish this morning IN THE SNOW! There's a first time for everything!

What are some ways that you all prepare your rods, reels and tackle for being put away for a few months. Seems like, for me, fishing season is over. The weather is awful here and if it's not extremely cold or raining, there's 20mph winds. I can't win so I'm packin' it all up.